Running Out of Time
by thegirlwholistened
Summary: Florence Annette is waiting for her life to begin when a strange explosion causes her to meet a strange man who calls himself the Doctor. She has never met him before, but he looks at her like he's known her for years.. some fluff later on
1. prolog

This is my very first FanFiction ever, so be gentle. I'm basically just making this up as I go along, hopefully I'll make a better story soon for you to enjoy.

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**PROLOG**

I find that time is a funny thing. The over abundance and the lack of it can be suffocating, all consuming, sucking you into a black hole that I now know as the time vortex. And this anomaly, this 'time' thing that people get so caught up in, it can be ripped away from you. It can tear out your heart as suddenly as it can pass by without you noticing. Like when you stop and realize that you've wasted it all. That it's over. You've run out.

This is the story of how my life was changed. How I lost my time. It began when I met a man. A man they call The Doctor.


	2. Chapter 1

By all appearances it was an ordinary day. I was sitting on the steps of my apartment I'd been renting for about a month, wondering what I was going to do with my life, as usual. I had just dropped out of college, realizing what a complete waste of my life it was, so I spent most of my time right there on that step. For some reason I thought the Chicago air would help me think.

In the distance I hear what sounds like a car that won't start, reminding me that I don't have a car, working or otherwise. Another unwelcome reminder of that fact was I realized what time it was, and that I needed to start walking to my job at a small flower shop three blocks over. I never made it to work that day.

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I'd made it about halfway there before all hell broke loose. The world slowed. One minute I was on the sidewalk, the next I was on the ground, propelled into the street by the force of an explosion. I coughed out the ash from my lungs and debris fell around me. A roaring in my ears overwhelmed me, but before the world went black I could just make out an unfamiliar voice.

It was calling my name.

* * *

I slowly opened my eyes, waking back up to the world. Without moving my head I carefully assessed my surroundings. The quickly squeezed them closed again. because what I saw was not what I was expecting. I must have hit my head _hard._

I stretched out my palms flat beneath me and discovered I was lying on some sort of metal grate. My fingers slipped through the holes in the metal, desperate for something to hold onto. I slowly processed that someone had put a pillow under my head and I was thankful because it added a small amount of comfort on that hard floor.

Above me was a domed, bronze ceiling. It appeared to be covered in strange holes. I started squinting to attempt to get a better look when I heard a cough from the other side of the room.

I froze, my eyes going wide and my body tensing up in surprise. Until this moment I hadn't considered that there may be someone else in the room. I hadn't considered much of anything aside from my surroundings.

A floor of images began to race through my mind. I was overcome with memories. The explosion, falling onto the hard asphalt, everything going black. Then slower I began to regain fainter memories. The feeling of moving, of being carried. A face, looking down at me, whose eyes were filled with a sadness rivaling the depth of the ocean. I longed to wash that sadness away, regardless of the fact that I had no idea who this man was or why he was so filled with despair. All I knew was that no one could possibly have that much hurt in their eyes. Not if I had anything to say about it.

My thoughts get pulled back to the hard floor in the strange room. Slowly I prop myself up with my elbows and try to take inventory of my surroundings. In the center of the room is a huge console with hundreds of flashing buttons and strange gears whirling about.

There's a set of rectangular double doors, most likely leading outside, and a doorway on the other side of the room suggesting more rooms just as strange and alien as this one. Finally my eyes settled on a man in a chair in the center of the room with his high top converse rested upon the blinking console. he was wearing a perfectly tailored brown pinstripe suit and had carefully tousled brown hair. He must have been the source of the cough that startled me, and he was staring right at me.


	3. Chapter 2

**I updated as quickly as I could, so no cats where harmed in the making of this fanfic**

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He cleared his throat and I realized that I must have been staring. After what felt like eternity he finally spoke.

"How's your head?"

I stuttered, unable to find my voice. "W-What?"

"Your head," he said patiently, "You took quite a hit there."

A image of the explosion flashed through my mind. "What, What happened?" I stammered, putting a hand on my pounding head.

"Oh, occupational hazard I suppose," the man said. "But you know all about that."

By this point I was thoroughly confused. What could this strange beautiful man be talking about?

"I'm not sure what you mean," I replied, "I work at a flower shop, the only occupational hazard I have is pricking a finger on a rosebush."

The man looked startled. He stared at me for a moment before realization showed on his face.

"Oh dear," was all he said.

I looked at him, even more confused than when I first woke up. I didn't know what I could possibly know about occupational hazards, or who this person was, or even when on earth I was, but I was going to find out.

"Where an I?" I asked. It was a simple question but it held a crucial key to my predicament.

"You're in the TARDIS," he said.

"The TARDIS," I repeated. "And what is that?"

"It stands for time and relative dimensions in space. She can take you anywhere you want to go," he said, regarding the machine fondly.

"Like a ship?" I asked.

"Like the very best ship you can possibly imagine."

"Alright," I said, giving up on making any sense out of this situation, and deciding to just make the best of it. "Then lets go."

He paused for a moment, seeming to consider my words. Then he appeared to have decided something and started rushing around pulling levers and pressing buttons with a wild gleam in his eyes. Unable to stay still on the hard floor any longer I bounced up on my heals and rushed up next to him. Using his whole body he pulled down on one final lever and the whole room jerked sideways as the TARDIS took off. It make a _vwwp vwoop _sound that sounded vaguely familiar...

"So," I turned to look him in the eye. "Do you have a name?"

He looked back at me. "The Doctor," he smiled "Just The Doctor."

I thought that was a very strange name, fitting for this strange ship on this strange day.

"Hello The Doctor," I held out my hand, "My name is Florence Annette."

He smiled at my hand and took it in his own, but he didn't shake it, he just held it for a moment. Then he let go and it fell to my side, empty.

"That's a lovely name," The Doctor said.

We were quiet for a few moments, the only sound was the hum of the TARDIS.

"Well," I finally said. "Where are we going?"

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**Thanks for reading! Please review**


	4. Chapter 3

"Why don't you find out?" The Doctor said, gesturing to the double doors I had earlier guessed led outside.

I cautiously approached the doors, reaching a hand out to touch the handle before pulling it back suddenly. I glanced behind me and saw The Doctor still standing where he was a moment ago, by the console. He was leaning against it and encouragingly smiling at me. I Inhaled deeply and as I exhaled I pushed the doors open.

I gasped. In front of me was lush, open, green fields, and in the distance, a beautiful stone castle. The kind that you normally see photos of it old and crumbling, but still quietly majestic. Except this one wasn't crumbling. It stood strong and proud as if it had only just been erected.

Excitedly I spun around to face The Doctor, a million questions bouncing around my brain. But I simply asked, "You coming?"

The Doctor grinned and ran out the door passed me.

"It's the year 1420," he was saying as I hurried to catch up with him. "Scotland, a beautiful country." He walked with his hands in the pockets of a long coat and glanced around at the scenery.

"Scotland," I repeated, "I've always wanted to go to Scotland." We walked towards the castle and after a moment something hit me. I stopped suddenly and when he noticed I stopped The Doctor did too. "Wait, what did you say?" He looked confused.

"It's a beautiful country?" He phrased it like a question.

"No before that," I said.

"The year 1420, Scotland?"

"Yep," I said. "Thats the one. Last I checked it was 2013."

The Doctor flashed me a knowing smile. "Oh," he said, "Did I mention it travels in time?"

"Ha, no you conveniently forgot that small detail," I replied, on the verge of hysteria. I started turning in circles to get a full view of 1420. Another time! Hundreds of years in the past! It was mesmerizing. On my second revolution I noticed a blue box in the spot where we had just came from. It was in the place of what must be a huge ship based on the size of that room. I stopped spinning. "What's that doing there?" I asked The Doctor.

"Thats the TARDIS," he replied

"No it's not," I said defiantly. " Thats just some old police box. The TARDIS is a ship."

"Oi, don't insult her!" The Doctor exclaimed.

"Sorry, sorry!" I said throwing my hands in the air innocently. "It's just … it's... it was so... big."

"Bigger on the inside technology," The Doctor replied.

"But how is that possible?" I asked. "where did you get that technology?"

"Did I mention I come from another planet? Terribly sorry, Florence, i must have... forgotten." The Doctor seemed sad for a moment but he quickly snapped back into admiring the TARDIS.

'An alien' was all I could think about. I suppose I wasn't really surprised. In fact I wasn't sure anything could surprise me anymore based upon the day I was having.

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**sorry for the short chapter and the long wait, Ive been really busy but **

**i promise next time will be better!**


	5. Chapter 4

Without warning, and without a reason why, I swiftly turned away from the castle and began running towards the TARDIS. The Doctor called after me but I didn't stop until I had thrown open the doors and went bounding inside, with The Doctor on my heels. I circled the console excitedly. "I have to go home," I told The Doctor who was standing opposite me looking taken aback.

"Alright," he said slowly. "But you've only just got here."

"No, you don't understand," I panted, I was winded from my sprint, I hadn't run like that in a very long time. "You've got to take me home, but I don't want to stay there, I just need a few things."

"What could you need? I assure you she's very well equipped, bedrooms and bathrooms are down the hall to the left, then the right, then two more lefts. There's a kitchen right, then let, then up. I've got a large closet somewhere, even libraries and a swimming pool." The Doctor said happily.

I laughed. " Not those sort of things."

"Hm, really?" He said. "It's got a slide. The swimming pool I mean."

"I'm sure it's a fabulous slide, fantastic even. But It's not the thing I need."

"Very well," The Doctor said, walking up to the console and looking down at the many buttons and levers. "Off we go!" he exclaimed, pulling a large lever down with great effort. The machine jerked and I had to grab the railing so I wouldn't fall over. And with a _vwoop vwoop_ we were headed home.

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The Tardis had materialized on my front step and as I stepped out I wondered what on earth the neighbors could be thinking right now. A blue box showing up in the middle of the day, what a sight!

I unlocked the door and let myself inside the small apartment building. My apartment was on the 5th floor and the elevator was out of order so I was forced to trek up the many flights of stairs. I reached my door and slid my key into the lock. I stopped. The door handle jiggled as if it had been forced open. Tentatively I pushed it open slowly and stepped into the dark room.

I didn't turn on the lights, for the fear that someone may still be inside. With my eyes adjusting to the darkness I saw the furniture had been tossed around quite a bit, probably by some robber searching for any valuables. Jokes on him, I thought. There's not much of value in here.

Deciding whoever had ransacked the place had likely left by now I retreated into my bedroom to collect a few things. I did a quick check and discovered that strangely nothing was missing. My old laptop and tv were still there, along with some money that had been sitting on the coffee table. Shrugging I was about to leave and go back downstairs where The Doctor was waiting when I decided I best grab a few clothes and snacks, just in case. Regardless of his reassurances I wasn't sure if The Doctor's ideas of clothes and food were the same as a humans. After a moments thought I grabbed a swimsuit as well.

"Doctor, how long have we been gone?" I asked as I stepped into the TARDIS, closing the door behind me.

The Doctor thought for a moment. "It should be about an hour after we left."

"After we left..." I thought aloud. "Doctor, when was it that we left exactly? I woke up in here… how long was I passed out?"

The Doctor stopped and looked up from the switches he had been playing with. He paused and seemed for a moment to have forgotten the earlier events of today, much like I had. "Doctor…" I asked slowly, "What exactly happened?"


End file.
